Tasmanian bushfire bipartisanship not absolute

Updated
January 09, 2013 12:10:00

Tasmania's bushfire bipartisanship is not absolute. One opposition MP, Rene Hidding, says he's received many complaints of food shortages and poor communications after the fires broke out, and says he still has some questions he wants answered.

ASHLEY HALL: While New South Wales braces, with warnings of the worst fire risk the state has faced and high temperatures forecast right along the East Coast today, questions are being asked about problems that plagued the response to Tasmania's fires.

The Liberal Leader Will Hodgman has pledged opposition support to ensure emergency aid is delivered to people affected by the bushfires burning across Tasmania - but bipartisanship is not absolute.

One opposition MP Rene Hidding says he's received many complaints about food shortages and communication problems when the fires broke out.

Brendan Trembath reports from Hobart.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: Tasmania's Premier Lara Giddings cut short an overseas trip to return to a state blanketed with a thick bushfire haze.

LARA GIDDINGS: And may I say it's good to be back on Tasmanian soil in what are some very distressing circumstances for many Tasmanians.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: In the worst hit community of Dunalley south-east of Hobart, dozens of homes were reduced to ash and rubble.

A sawmill and bakery were destroyed but two petrol stations were spared.

John Davis says his wife's canvas goods manufacturing and repair shop was also saved.

JOHN DAVIS: We're particularly lucky. The building has got very minor damage and our own home's undamaged.

We're terribly lucky.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: He approves of how the State Government and opposition have put their political differences aside to focus on the fire response.

JOHN DAVIS: My understanding from what I've heard is that there's complete bipartisan support from the parties, and I can't imagine that they won't help one another to help us.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: But despite the spirit of bipartisanship, Opposition MP Rene Hidding, the member for Lyons, still has some questions he wants answered sooner or later.

RENE HIDDING: There's always, in the wash up, there are many questions as to what could have taken place, what someone should have done, and could people have been told about things earlier? All that will come in some kind of wash up. There'll be... no question, there'll be a look at this to see how things can be done better in the future.

This was an extraordinary event in an extraordinary circumstance. There are basically two peninsulas which formed an island as a result of this fire - extremely strange that something they'd never considered, that they might need a Dunkirk style evacuation to actually get themselves off the peninsula and to get basic food and services there.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: What could be done better?

RENE HIDDING: In retrospect, when we have a long look at it, I think the lack of communications is the one thing now, is that people coming off the peninsula, talking to me daily - every hour I'm taking phone calls from people that have just got off the peninsula who are beside themselves at the lack of communications that took place.

Now 17 years ago, John Howard, the Prime Minister of Australia, landed at the oval at Port Arthur and said one of the great shortcomings of the disaster, the tragedy back then was that there was an appalling communications problem on the peninsula.

Now much of that has been fixed, in terms of emergency services communicating with each other, but it certainly wasn't fixed for residents speaking to each other - even over a space of a kilometre or two. And it was an astonishing wake up call for everybody on the peninsula that we- they have an over-reliance on high technology with our iPhones and iPads and the rest of it, which were all completely useless.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: Is now really the time to be talking about this stuff, when police and others are still searching for bodies?

RENE HIDDING: Oh not at all, nobody's being critical about this. It's a wake-up call for all of us.